A student whose life was turned upside down overnight after a neurological disorder left her unable to walk has overcome the odds to graduate from university with first class honours.

Miriam Culy was on her way to a lecture at Keele University when her legs suddenly collapsed, and she fell to the ground. Having been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), when she was eight years old, Miriam thought she'd suffered a flare up of the condition she’d lived with for most of her life.

But soon Miriam 'couldn’t walk anywhere' and found herself in a wheelchair 'overnight' during the second year of her Philosophy degree. She also began suffering from seizures, blackouts and was left unable to speak for over three hours on one occasion.

Miriam, aged 22, said: "The first drop attack I suffered, where your legs just give way, was very sudden and came as a big shock. After that it started to happen all the time, to the point where I couldn't walk anywhere, and I needed to be in a wheelchair pretty much overnight."

After undergoing tests, Miriam was diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND), a medical condition that causes problems with how the brain receives and sends information to the rest of the body, causing serious arm and leg weakness and seizures.

She said: "I'd lived with ME since I was eight and it was all I'd really known, so I knew what to look out for and how to manage it. Suddenly I had new symptoms, a new diagnosis and I was dealing with it all while I was more than two hours away from home without the immediate support of my family around me. It was a scary time and it made life at university difficult."

After experiencing significant health difficulties throughout her studies, Miriam admits she came close to leaving university. However, she was determined to not only complete her course but continue to engage in a range of extra-curricular activities, including being a member of the Keele University Gospel Choir and Keele Drama Society. And today, she collected her degree in front of friends and family at Keele's summer graduation ceremonies.

She said: "I think it would have been very easy for me to give up but I'm glad that I didn't. I found being in a wheelchair suddenly difficult to come to terms with, and losing my independence affected my self-confidence. I was probably at my lowest at the end of my second year but the support I received at Keele gave me the strength to keep going.

"My flat mates were incredible and went above and beyond. I didn't have the strength to push myself in the wheelchair, but they really looked after me and took me to my lectures. There were times when I just wasn't in the right state to go to class but the lecturers were brilliant in helping me catch up, and the decision to split my final year across two years really helped with managing the workload.

"In the summer before I started my final year I got an electric wheelchair and that changed everything. I could get around by myself and it really gave me my confidence back. I also joined the Gospel Choir at the university, and I don't think I would have made it to the end of the course if it wasn't for them. People do look at you differently when you're in a wheelchair, and that did have a big impact on me, but the society treated me the same as everybody else and they were a massive part in rebuilding my confidence and finding the strength to finish my degree."

After graduation, she plans to continue her academic studies with a Master's degree in Creative Writing and Publishing at the University of Bournemouth, pursuing her dream of becoming an author that promotes and represents disabled characters.

She said: "I've slowly been building my health and how far I can walk back up, but it's a long journey. I can walk for a few minutes now, but I still need a wheelchair for longer journeys.

"I've been told I might make a full recovery and be able to walk again like before, or I could suffer a massive relapse and be in a wheelchair permanently. There's no way of knowing what is going to happen which is quite daunting, but I am just looking after myself the best I can and continuing to pursue my dreams."